This inquiry is not a paid promotion for a pending Disney movie. I am not pitching a cute singing journal for the next McDonald's Happy Meal's campaign.

My growth through inquiry and questions were the result of answering hard questions straight from the heart. My friends and I would know it was a real answer when the answer landed with a dull thud. These were the answers that were not sugar coated, or on the Instagram highlight real, but a solemn moment of truth.

"Yea, that is what I said to my wife and the way I said it." The statement didn't sound any better the second time around. With the emotional trappings and the weak justification stripped away, it sounded really bad. Seeing the stark reality, prompted action and was the beginning of change.

Journals are another sounding board. When taken seriously, the time spent journaling will display the activity that is going on in the space between our ears.

The honest dialogue about hopes, fears, loves and frustrations gives the opportunity to get it out of our heads and onto a page where it can be studied. Picked-up, admired, peered at from another angle, and even left to age a bit, before re-examination.

How does your journal speak to you?

Journals are a safe space to lay bare our souls. No Internet trolls or Police ensuring we are politically correct; it is you and the page. The response may be a faint whisper helping to restore and heal, or a jarring used car salesman telling you the time will never be right, and action is required "right now." Turn off the distractions and listen closely.

Going Further: Do you ruminate on topics or do you touch on an issue and move on? How much time to you dedicate to learning from your writing? What topics are taboo? What changes can you make to make journaling more profitable?

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kenneth Woodward and IOTD365 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Give me a chance to say "Yes".